A middle-aged woman and her son have been arrested after allegedly trying to take her husband to commit suicide in Switzerland, it emerged last night.

The 65-year-old woman and her 25-year-old son are suspected of planning to admit the terminally ill man to the Dignitas clinic in Zurich to die.

The female pensioner, who comes from the Chichester area of West Sussex, was held along with her son on suspicion of encouraging or assisting a suicide before being released on police bail.

Assisted suicide: A 65-year-old wife and her son, 25, are alleged to have planned to fly her 71-year-old husband to this Dignitas clinic in Pfaeffikon, near Zurich, Switzerland, so he could end his own life

So far no members of the family have been named by police and the older man’s condition has not been revealed.

But
officers have said they are having the mental capacity of the
‘vulnerable’ 71-year-old assessed to determine if he is able to make
decisions for himself.

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Yesterday
a spokesman for Sussex Police said: ‘Police have been made aware of
suggestions that a man and a woman from West Sussex could be planning to
take a vulnerable pensioner to go to the

Dignitas clinic in Switzerland so that he can end his life.

‘It is an offence to encourage or assist suicide under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

‘Our officers are investigating whether any crime has been committed or is likely to be committed if they do not take action.’

The
spokesman added: ‘We are currently having the mental capacity of the
vulnerable 71-year-old assessed in order to determine how able he is to
make decisions for himself.

Ongoing investigation: Sussex Police, headquarters pictured, are now investigating whether the 71-year-old has the mental capacity to chose to end his life

Legal Battle: Paul Lamb, 58, who is paralysed from the neck down, lost is case arguing for the right to die earlier this month but has vowed to take his battle to the Supreme Court

‘The investigation is looking into what steps, if any, the suspects had made in taking the man out of the country.

‘If
it is confirmed the man had the mental capacity to make decisions for
himself then we would not be able to prevent him travelling.’

West
Sussex County Council, whose social workers know the family, are
working with police on the case but said it would be ‘inappropriate’ to
comment.

However euthanasia campaigner Michael Irwin said: ‘It is ridiculous for them to arrest anyone under these circumstances.

‘Every year up to 30 people go to Switzerland with relatives and no action is ever taken against them.‘To my knowledge nobody has been arrested in this situation for the last three years.’

Although
legal in Switzerland, assisted suicide is a criminal offence in the UK
and carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

Despite
this, the Crown Prosecution Service has made it clear that a person
accompanying someone to a foreign country to commit suicide is unlikely
to face prosecution.

The
guidelines clarifying the UK’s position on assisted suicide were issued
in February 2010 by the Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer,
QC.

They indicate that
anyone acting with compassion to help end the life of someone who has
decided they cannot go on would be unlikely to face criminal charges.

And
while assisted suicide remains a criminal offence in England and Wales,
individual decisions on prosecution are based on the circumstances in
each case.

Anguish:
Tony Nicklinson, who had locked-in syndrome, is comforted by his wife
last year after he is told the High Court decided a doctor is not
allowed to help him end his life. He died shortly afterwards, but his
family have continued the fight to have the law on assisted suicide
clarified

Right-to-die fight: Mr Nicklinson, a father-of-two from Melksham, Wiltshire, was paralysed by a stroke while on a business trip to Athens in 2005

Dignitas has
seen more than 1,100 deaths since it opened 14 years ago, including
more than 150 Britons who have made the decision to commit suicide at
its Zurich clinic.

A
total of 200 people end their life there every year as assisted suicide
is legal in Switzerland provided that the helper does not personally
benefit from the death.

And
despite complaints about so-called ‘suicide tourism’ – 85 per cent of
Zurich voters rejected a call to end legalised assisted suicide in 2011,
while 78 per cent rejected a call to ban foreigners from going to the
country to end their lives.

In
May this year it emerged that a retired professional man had become the
first British dementia patient to end his life at the Dignitas clinic.
The 83-year-old chose to die because he did not want the symptoms of the
disease to be able to progress any further.